The volleyball club is gearing up for an exciting season ahead with players hoping to bring more students into the stands and share their love and energy of the game.
“We’re looking forward to all of our games,” said Madison Aivaliotis, a third-year student and president of the club. “We enjoy any opportunity to build our in our competition and to challenge ourselves. “But I think for the home games, we’re excited to hopefully get a big crowd in and have just a team morale boosted by the atmosphere.”
One of the first home games of the season will take place on Wednesday, November 5th at 18.00, when KU faces off against Portsmouth at the Kingston College Arena.
The women’s team is especially looking forward to hosting Kent at home as it was a very close game on Wednesday, October 15th. They’re also feeling good about taking on LSE, they expect these two games to be both exciting and competitive.
Volleyball at KU has been steadily growing in popularity but club members say there’s still plenty of room for more recognition. “I would say underrated sport,” said Leon Kallaninski, a first-year student and the club’s vice president.
Both the men’s and women’s teams have been working hard to strengthen their bonds. Chinedu, a third-year student who’s been captain for the men’s team these past two years, emphasised the importance of teamwork and support. “We need to learn how to play with each other, first just come together as a team, he said.
For newcomers, the club offers recreational Monday sessions open to all skill levels. “In my opinion, the best way to dive into the sport, especially if you’re new,” Leon added.
Meanwhile, Chinedu wants people to realise the sport is more fun than they’d initially think. He remarks: “Volleyball is a sport where you come, make mistakes and you won’t be judged because everyone’s been where you’ve been. Like everyone’s been at the bottom and everyone improves.”
